In May 2018 the Malaysian governing coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) lost in national elections for the first time since independence. But the subsequent reform process came to a sudden halt in February 2020. During transitions, unpredictability and risks for political actors are higher, and political conditions are extremely volatile. Multiparty coalitions such as PH have trouble sustaining the cohesion that was instrumental in their electoral victory. The highly polarized environment and the differing strategic calculations of PH coalition partners after the elections prompted the early downfall of the government. At the same time, the opposition, weakened shortly after the transitional elections, increased its cohesiveness and mobilized its supporters against the government in an environment of deep ethnoreligious cleavages. This paper traces the reform successes and failures of the PH government as well as the reconsolidation and strengthening of the new opposition, up to the emergence of the new Perikatan Nasional government.

中文翻译：

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马来西亚民联的垮台

2018 年 5 月，马来西亚执政联盟希望联盟（PH）自独立以来首次在全国选举中失利。但随后的改革进程在 2020 年 2 月突然停顿。在过渡期间，政治行为体的不可预测性和风险较高，政治环境极不稳定。诸如pH之类的多方联盟难以维持在选举胜利中发挥作用的凝聚力。选举后高度两极分化的环境和希盟联盟伙伴的不同战略计算促使政府提前垮台。与此同时，在过渡选举后不久就被削弱的反对派，在种族宗教分裂严重的环境中增强了凝聚力，并动员其支持者反对政府。